Monday, September 15

September 15th, 2008

Terrible few days on the American financial scene: Lehman Brothers Holdings and Merrill Lynch both go bankrupt and only Merrill has been "rescued" by a buyout from Bank of America, based in this city, for $50 billion. So, in a way, the Charlotte posse came to the rescue--but above all of this, is it just a big band-aid on a gushing gash of a wound in a most important part of the financial body? This is the biggest shake-up of American money institutions since the 1930s. More is to come, at noon today Wall Street Dow numbers are down over 300 points and the ripple effect is felt across the world's markets.Winter will be the real test with energy and food prices for Americans. The bleak housing and mortgage situation is far from over and even landlords are trying to keep their tenants--sales down of properties and money is tighter for many, the tightest it has been in many's lives.We all must bundle up, eat a cold can of beans and fewer showers to conserve our funds. Living "above our means" is now so minimal a feat and this simple has just become much more difficult. This is not only green for the environment, it is "green" for our pockets.